Several recent mainstream media articles have highlighted different aspects of the industry that provides us with fish to eat. As large numbers in the developing world strive match our North American lifestyle – their increased consumption of animal and fish protein has increased pressures on the environment as well as the health of entire fish species.
The Independent newspaper from Great Britain last week published a story from their environment editor touching on the precarious situation facing the stocks of freshwater eels in Europe due to overfishing and in early January the BBC explained how even in the Amazon populations of the giant arapaima fish are ‘under threat’ from overfishing.

As sushi has become even more mainstream and popular, CBC World News reports that the U.N. proposes a ban on the fishing of the now nearly extinct bluefin tuna. The world organization proposes to put the large fish on the most-endangered species list. On the flipside, the New York Times this week covered the political pressure in Japan (consumers of over 80% of the bluefin catch) that would have them refuse to comply with such a ban. In fact as recently as early January, a large bluefin tuna fetched $177,000 at an auction in Tokyo.
On the positive side, Radio-Canada’s talk show “L’après-midi porte conseil” blogged about how many of the endangered fish species are disappearing from supermarket fish counters under public pressure. In fact, in an early February report, the non-profit organisation Fish-Wise explains how the large retailer Safeway has agreed to partner with Fish-Wise to provide its clients with more sustainable seafood.

As the consumers of these fish, we are each responsible for the overfishing that plagues the world’s fish populations as well as fresh and salt water ecosystems. Inform yourself, chose selectively and make your preferences known to our restaurateurs, grocers and fishmongers – together we will have a direct economic impact on fishing industry practices. Canadian readers can find information (as well as printable pocket references or iPhone apps which are very handy when doing groceries) on sustainable and low-toxicity fish choices at www.seachoice.org, while Amercian consumers can find similar references at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s site (for the West Coast) and the Environmental Defence Fund’s page. If you are a pet owner who feeds your pets commercial (even high end) pet food – take the time to write or email the pet food manufacturers to make your preferences known. Those who take fish oil supplements or give them to their kids should do the same – inform yourself about what fisheries the oils come from and put pressure on manufacturers to use fish products from sustainable sources. The phrase “together we can make a difference” is overused in such collective action – but in cases such as this we are the difference! The same market forces which brought us this problem can be used to correct it. Vote with your pocketbook, credit or debit cards and the market will follow.